Fire (or Force 'Contemplated Retirement') Coach Woodson Thread

[Stuhoo 83,202]

22 minutes ago, AKHoosier said:

Honestly I'm sorry, but this post irritates me almost as much as Leal's comments do. Who are you to tell me who I need to root for? I've always been an IU fan but don't mistake that for having blind, unconditional support.

A 21 year old kid who has hardly any athleticism and barely contributes to the team, yet has 6 figures in his bank account BECAUSE of the fan support, tells those same fans "there's a reason you aren't coaches" or "you just need to chill" when the team had underperformed at 18-13 just rubs me the wrong way.

And thus, makes it harder to root for them. Rant over. 

I will second it:

Anthony Leal is the absolute best of what an Indiana player should be.

It’s my opinion. Everyone is entitled to their own. But holy hell; who isn’t proud and happy for Anthony Leal? Leader, patience, improvement, hard worker, academic excellence, local kid, loyalty, performance.

Oh, and respectful but not afraid to speak the hard truths.

[Chris007 48,682]

11 minutes ago, HoosierHoopster said:

Rant ignores that the experience he brings to this team is now contributing to W’s. We don’t win without him on the floor last night. It’s not about his athleticism, it’s about his decision making. 

We obviously need to significantly improve our backcourt this offseason and going forward. But that doesn’t mean it makes sense to just dismiss the kid’s contributions bc he isn’t athletic or the level of guard we need to get back into contention 

So is that another reason we need to fire Woodson because he didn't play him for half this season and the last 2 years

[Home Jersey 10,200]

Leal's speech doesn't upset me very much (I do think the tone could have been better) but he was taking queues from his coach and I believe a lot of the "true fan" narrative is also related to treatment of Xavier, so also sticking up for his teammate. I like having a guy like that in the locker room even if it means adopting an "us against the world" mindset that a lot of fans may find off-putting. Woodson's speech is another topic but I've cooled off a lot about Leal. 

[HoosierHoopster 7,290]

6 minutes ago, Chris007 said:

So is that another reason we need to fire Woodson because he didn't play him for half this season and the last 2 years

Not imo. 2 years ago was a different team altogether. First half of this season? Hard to say, probably should’ve gotten minutes for stability but doubt he was standing out in practices and staff was expecting development out of a couple guys who didn’t show it. I’m very much wanting IU to move on from Woodson, but hindsight based on current play from Leal who almost never played in a full college career isn’t one of my reasons 

[Chris007 48,682]

1 minute ago, HoosierHoopster said:

Not imo. 2 years ago was a different team altogether. First half of this season? Hard to say, probably should’ve gotten minutes for stability but doubt he was standing out in practices and staff was expecting development out of a couple guys who didn’t show it. I’m very much wanting IU to move on from Woodson, but hindsight based on current play from Leal who almost never played in a full college career isn’t one of my reasons 

[MrBBall 245]

12 minutes ago, Home Jersey said:

Leal's speech doesn't upset me very much (I do think the tone could have been better) but he was taking queues from his coach and I believe a lot of the "true fan" narrative is also related to treatment of Xavier, so also sticking up for his teammate. I like having a guy like that in the locker room even if it means adopting an "us against the world" mindset that a lot of fans may find off-putting. Woodson's speech is another topic but I've cooled off a lot about Leal. 

He uses the language in the locker room. Not a good way to endear yourself to fans. Would they rather us be like IU football fandom? Uncaring and apathetic?

Edited March 15, 2024 by MrBBall

[Home Jersey 10,200]

8 minutes ago, MrBBall said:

He uses the language in the locker room. Not a good way to endear yourself to fans. Would they rather us be like OU football fandom? Uncaring and apathetic?

Sorry I'm not really following that comparison... I am not aware of OU football fans being uncaring and apathetic haha. Maybe I missed something? 

Edit: I agree it's not a great way of endearing yourself to fans. If you feel like it has to be said, which Leal clearly did, I won't begrudge you for speaking your truth. I will try to understand even if it initially seems offensive to me. Doesn't mean I will agree with what he said or the sentiment but it's not going to stop me from rooting for him. Just my .02

[ap2345 9,034]

2 hours ago, Chris007 said:

After rewatching it this morning. It looked like the play was for Ware but Reneau decided he was going to be the hero. Thankfully Anthony Chill Out Leal was there

Well when you’re the coaches favorite you can do whatever you want lol

[MrBBall 245]

4 minutes ago, Home Jersey said:

Sorry I'm not really following that comparison... I am not aware of OU football fans being uncaring and apathetic haha. Maybe I missed something? 

Ha. Edited 

[Class of '66 Old Fart 86,577]

IMO Trey's and Anthony's comments wouldn't have been taken as badly had not Woody opened his yap.  If Woody had simply thanked the fans and the players and left everything else out, I really don't think there would be as big of a stink as has developed.  And FWIW, I don't think either one looked really comfortable when they made their comments and I felt they were not truly heartfelt but expected from them likely in light of extra NIL they were promised.

[Artie86 2,402]

2 hours ago, btownqb said:

How could Leal's words actually have bothered any of you? 

You can tell his just an overall good kid. He seems always be well spoken, confident and intelligent. 

[RoncalliHoosier 409]

1 minute ago, Class of '66 Old Fart said:

IMO Trey's and Anthony's comments wouldn't have been taken as badly had not Woody opened his yap.  If Woody had simply thanked the fans and the players and left everything else out, I really don't think there would be as big of a stink as has developed.  And FWIW, I don't think either one looked really comfortable when they made their comments and I felt they were not truly heartfelt but expected from them likely in light of extra NIL they were promised.

True, but the fans (including us here) did not know about the extra scratch at the time they spoke on Senior Day.

[LamarCheeks 20,090]

34 minutes ago, Class of '66 Old Fart said:

IMO Trey's and Anthony's comments wouldn't have been taken as badly had not Woody opened his yap.  If Woody had simply thanked the fans and the players and left everything else out, I really don't think there would be as big of a stink as has developed.  And FWIW, I don't think either one looked really comfortable when they made their comments and I felt they were not truly heartfelt but expected from them likely in light of extra NIL they were promised.

I don't think Trey said anything really inflammatory, did he? He just said he was coming back to play in the best place and for the best fans. Leal brought up fans thinking they're coaches and telling everyone to just chill -- which may have ruffled some feathers. 

[Artie86 2,402]

1 hour ago, Chris007 said:

I would agree with that. I also think Malik wants to be the man, but is not ready to be the man yet. 

I love Malik's motor and ability, but IMO he comes across as a bit selfish at times. I mean, when he gets the ball at the low post anywhere near the basket, 9 times out of 10 his head is down and going to the hole. Team know this and prepare to dbbl and triple team him. When he begins to turn/pivot towards the basket he sometimes, lazily brings his hands down/through slower and that is where he get in trouble....

[Certified Sunshine Pumper 9,606]

2 hours ago, Chris007 said:

Because I will chill when I want to chill, no one tells me to chill unless I'm eating at Chilli's. 

But in seriousness, I didn't care for his tone. But over the days I'm slowly becoming OK with it

I'm sure Anthony Leal doesn't care for the tone of many of our fans. 

[Mopladysman 511]

6 minutes ago, btownqb said:

I'm sure Anthony Leal doesn't care for the tone of many of our fans. 

True Fan  

[Certified Sunshine Pumper 9,606]

1 minute ago, Mopladysman said:

True Fan  

I'm not sure what you mean. 

[Artie86 2,402]

2 hours ago, Golfman25 said:

You don't attack the fans, period.  Why is that so hard for people to understand?  

.....tell me where Leal actually attacks IU fans from what he said..... I just don't see it. If you think it's because he says "there's a reason you guys aren't coaches, so relax or .....you guys need to chill!" He is just addressing the fans to just calm down and obviously relax/chill. The part about, ...."there's a reason you guys aren't coaches", who cares! If some of you all think that was too strong or feel like being attacked, then IMO your way too sensitive. Good grief, maybe he said a little more then he anticipated, I don't know, ....but give him a little grace for sticking with this program as long as he has,  getting limited playing time AND loosing a very close friend. 

Leal, a Bloomington South graduate, said he wanted to "make something very clear."

"Adversity is part of sports," Leal said. "For those of you who are so quick to give up and call for quits and everything, there's a reason that you guys aren't coaches. So you relax. There's no other coach in the country that I would trust with anything in my life than coach Woodson. There's no other university that I would like to represent. We're going to run it back, but you guys got to chill."

[bigrod 2,915]

17 minutes ago, btownqb said:

I'm sure Anthony Leal doesn't care for the tone of many of our fans. 

But he'll put up with it while cashing his check.

[Mopladysman 511]

7 minutes ago, Artie86 said:

.....tell me where Leal actually attacks IU fans from what he said..... I just don't see it. If you think it's because he says "there's a reason you guys aren't coaches, so relax or .....you guys need to chill!" He is just addressing the fans to just calm down and obviously relax/chill. The part about, ...."there's a reason you guys aren't coaches", who cares! If some of you all think that was too strong or like being attacked, then IMO your way too sensitive. Good grief, maybe he said a little more then he anticipated, I don't know, ....but give him a little grace for sticking with this program as long as he has,  getting limited playing time AND loosing a very close friend. 

Leal, a Bloomington South graduate, said he wanted to "make something very clear."

"Adversity is part of sports," Leal said. "For those of you who are so quick to give up and call for quits and everything, there's a reason that you guys aren't coaches. So you relax. There's no other coach in the country that I would trust with anything in my life than coach Woodson. There's no other university that I would like to represent. We're going to run it back, but you guys got to chill."

In other words, you fans don’t know ****, stfu